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Previously posted by blogger John Myers @ KQED – Capital Notes
03.28.06
Tribal Casino Deal Debated
If the Legislature signs off on a deal to allow two Indian tribes from different parts of the state to converge and build side-by-side casinos in the city of Barstow, will it be making lemonade out of lemons... or setting a dangerous precedent for expansion of tribal gaming?
Those seemed to be the key questions in a marathon hearing of the Senate Governmental Operations Committee that lasted into the evening, and included at least one testy exchange between lawmakers.
Under discussion were gaming agreements between Governor Schwarzenegger and two tribes: San Diego County's Los Coyotes Band of Mission Indians and the Big Lagoon Rancheria of Humboldt County (actually, only Big Lagoon's deal was on the agenda).
The agreements would allow each tribe to build a casino in Barstow, more than 150 miles from Los Coyotes' tribal lands and more than 700 miles from those of Big Lagoon. In part, the deal would settle Big Lagoon's seven year legal battle with the state, which arose over environmental concerns about a casino on the tribe's north coast reservation. Barstow city leaders also support the deal, leading Schwarzenegger tribal negotiator Daniel Kolkey to tell the committee it's a "win-win" agreement.
But two Democrats, committee chairman Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter) and Sen. Gloria Romero (D-LA), seemed skeptical and suggested the deal could set a precedent for off-reservation Indian gaming in areas where a tribe has no ancestral ties... (Full Post)
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